That principle is inverted by 498-A which makes dowry crime a cognizable and non-bailable offence. This has been interpreted to mean that anyone accused should be arrested the moment a complaint is registered. Given the ubiquity of marital quarrels and massive corruption among police forces everywhere in India, the extent of misuse of this provision– for the sake of extortion or plain settling of scores — can easily be imagined.

Neither should the issue be seen in a men vs women light. Because female relatives of a husband are equally liable to arrest in case of complaints against them. One is under threat not just if one is a married man but also if one is related to a married man – a category that would include most of us, whether man or woman.

The Supreme Court cited 2012 court statistics that showed nearly a quarter of those arrested under Section 498-A that year were women. As it observed, “In quite a number of cases, bed-ridden grand-fathers and grand-mothers of the husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested”. This can scar people and goes against basic canons of justice.

The apex court has now advised against arrest based on mere allegations, saying that a police officer must first arrive at a reasonable degree of satisfaction about the genuineness of the allegation and provide proof to a magistrate, who must also record the reasons for the arrest. This is as it should be.

It has been argued that dowry crimes are a scar on society’s conscience and therefore, in such cases, we should suspend the principle of innocence until proven guilty. But murder too is a heinous crime, we don’t suspend the basic principle of Indian jurisprudence even (or especially) for such cases.

In fact, the law works best if it’s kept simple rather than terrifyingly complex and Kafkaesque. In that context, why do we need anti-dowry laws at all? If the law is serious about tackling anti-dowry offences then it can treat dowry deaths as murders, against which there are tough provisions in the Indian penal code. Similarly with every other category of dowry misdemeanour, whether physical violence, threats or criminal intimidation against the bride.

And if the law isn’t serious about prosecuting such offences, then no amount of tweaking the law will help.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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After drinking at various disciplinary streams, which included an engineering degree from IIT Kanpur and a doctorate in literature from the University of Pennsylvania, Swagato Ganguly now edits “The Times of Ideas”, the editorial page of the Times of India. He’s fascinated by ideas in all shapes, sizes and guises, whether well-cooked or medium-rare – but especially as they motivate everyday living. He’s also interested in the Indian middle class, in its uniqueness as well as globality. In his view Indian politics is torn between ideological extremes, and would do well to discover a liberal middle. His biggest weaknesses are movies, art, and brewing and sipping a good cup of coffee, for which he gets little time.

After drinking at various disciplinary streams, which included an engineering degree from IIT Kanpur and a doctorate in literature from the University of Pe. . .